Little Baby Sweater
My son Bear is a rowdy, mysterious, extremely silly two and a half years old. I love his toddlerhood, its questions and observations, its vicissitudes and surprises, but there’s one thing I really do miss about his infancy. Those amazingly tiny little clothes! With their itty bitty sleeves and miniature proportions, they seem to me now like they were made for enchanted elves instead of babies! This irresistible cuteness makes baby gear almost everyone’s favorite thing to knit, me included.
And so to satisfy this hankering, I designed this charming Little Baby Sweater. It’s a simple knit, inspired by the no-nonsense engineering of knitting great, Elizabeth Zimmermann. Its inset sleeves pay homage to her genius Tomten Jacket, and its easy, low maintenance finishing would maybe please the guru herself! If you love Elizabeth Zimmermann’s style but have always felt a little intimidated by her approach, this is a very friendly place to start!
I was happy to have a great excuse to try out our newest yarn from Anzula, Sebastian, because it includes sea cell, a fiber I had never heard of. It turns out that sea cell is a seaweed and cellulose blend with the rigor and breathability of a plant fiber, the feather lightness of wool, and the soft shine of bamboo. It also turns out that sea cell plus superwash merino makes Sebastian the perfect choice for a baby!
Update: New Yarn
March 20, 2019
Originally knit in a now-discontinued yarn, how could we resist bringing back our Little Baby Sweater in our soft, sumptuous, and machine washable Posy and Pocket Posy yarns? We had some fun and changed the color of the Pocket Posy stripes in each section. Do the same with our 3-Skein Pocket Posy Bundle, available in seven palettes, or try your own thing: alternating stripes, gradating stripes, rainbow stripes, whatever you think baby might like!
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Whitney Van Nes.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, and #PurlSohoLittleBabySweater. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 2 skeins of Anzula’s Sebastian, 70% Superwash Merino and 30% Sea Cell. These colors are Au Natural and Charcoal. NOTE: This yarn is no longer available. Try this sweater with a skein of Purl Soho’s Posy, plus a skein of Pocket Posy, instead!
- A US 3 (3.25 mm), 20- or 24- inch circular needles
- Four 3/8-inch buttons. We used Purl Soho’s Small Round Buttons in the color Gray.
Gauge
7 stitches = 1 inch in garter stitch
Size
Newborn-6 Months
- Finished Chest Circumference: 18¼ inches
- Finished Length From Bottom Hem To Top Shoulder: 9½ inches
- Finished Length From Bottom Hem To Underarm: 5½ inches
Note
For a lot less work at the end, instead of cutting the yarn when you finish a stripe, carry it loosely up the side.
Pattern
Body
With Main Color (MC), cast on 124 stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.
Knit 5 rows.
*With Contrast Color (CC), knit 2 rows.
With MC, knit 6 rows.
Repeat from * 7 more times. (Piece measures 5 inches from bottom hem.)
With CC, knit 2 rows.
With MC, knit 5 rows.
Separate For Underarms
With wrong side facing you and still using MC, k15, bind off 31, k31, bind off 31, k14 to end of row. [15 stitches for Left Front; 32 stitches for Back; 15 stitches for Right Front]
Right Front
Now working just the 15 stitches of the Right Front and starting where you left off…
*With CC, knit 2 rows.
With MC, knit 6 rows.
Repeat from * 2 more times. Bind off and cut yarns.
Back
Now working just the 32 stitches of the Back, with right side facing you and joining CC and MC…
*With CC, knit 2 rows.
With MC, knit 6 rows.
Repeat from * 5 more times.
Bind off and cut yarns.
Left Front
Now working just the 15 stitches of the Left Front, with right side facing you and joining CC and MC…
*With CC, knit 2 rows.
With MC, knit 6 rows.
Repeat from * 2 more times.
Bind off, leaving last stitch on needle, and cut CC.
Left Button Band
Rotate work to pick up and knit 50 stitches along the Left Front edge to bottom corner. [51 stitches total]
Traditional For Boys
NOTE: If you don’t care where buttons traditionally go for boys versus girls, just go ahead and pick either set of instructions (For Boys or For Girls). If you do care but don’t know whether the recipient will be a boy or girl, you can follow the boys’ instruction here and the girls’ for the Right Button Band, and then when the baby is born, you can sew up the holes you don’t need and place the buttons right on top!
Knit 2 rows.
Next Row: K11, *yo, k2tog, k10, repeat from * 2 more times, yo, k2tog, k2.
Knit 2 rows and bind off.
Traditional For Girls
Knit 5 rows and bind off.
Right Button Band
With right side facing you and with MC, start at bottom corner of Right Front and pick up and knit 51 stitches along Right Front edge to top corner.
Traditional For Boys
Knit 5 rows and bind off.
Traditional For Girls
Knit 2 rows.
Next Row: K3, *yo, k2tog, k10, repeat from * 3 more times.
Knit 2 rows and bind off.
Right Sleeve
NOTE: When you begin picking up stitches for Right Sleeve, leave a 12-inch tail to use later for sewing.
With right side facing you and MC, start at bottom right corner of Back…
…and pick up and knit 24 stitches.
Use a Cable Cast On to cast on 12 stitches.
Making sure cast-on stitches aren’t twisted and with right side facing you, pick up and knit 12 stitches down Right Front. [48 stitches total]
**Now working back and forth in rows, start by turning work so wrong side is facing you.
Knit 5 rows.
*With CC, knit 2 rows.
With MC, knit 6 rows.
Repeat from * 3 more times and bind off, leaving an 18-inch tail.
Left Sleeve
NOTE: Again, when you begin picking up stitches for Left Sleeve, leave a 12-inch tail to use later for sewing.
With right side facing you and MC, start at bottom corner of Left Front…
…and pick up 12 stitches.
Use a Cable Cast On to cast on 12 stitches.
Making sure cast-on stitches aren’t twisted and with right side facing you, pick up and knit 24 stitches down left Back. [48 stitches total]
Repeat from ** of Right Sleeve.
Sewing Sleeves
Left Sleeve
*Thread Sleeve’s bind-off tail onto a tapestry needle and, starting at bind-off edge, sew together four ridges of Sleeve (one MC stripe and one CC stripe).
Fold the Body’s Underarm in half and insert tapestry needle just under Underarm’s bind-off edge at its halfway point.**
Sewing back and forth between back Underarm and back of Sleeve, connect back of Sleeve to Body. Remove needle from yarn.
Now threading tapestry needle onto first tail you left, sew together front of Sleeve and front Underarm.
Right Sleeve
Repeat from * to ** of Left Sleeve.
Sewing back and forth between front Underarm and front of Sleeve, connect front of Sleeve to Body. Remove needle from yarn.
Now threading the needle onto the first tail you left, sew together back of Sleeve and back Underarm.
Finishing
Sew four buttons onto Button Band across from buttonholes.
Weave in the ends and gently block your Little Sweater!
Looks like this yarn is discontinued. What would be the best substitute that you’d suggest?
Hello Caitlin!
Yes, unfortunately Sebastian is discontinued. We would highly recommend the Purl Soho Mulberry Merino since its silk has a lovely sheen, just like the sea cell in the Sebastian did! You can find that yarn here: https://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/9650-Purl-Soho-Mulberry-Merino Whichever yarn you decide, make sure you’ll be able to yield a gauge of 7 stitches = 1 inch in garter stitch and you’ll be golden!
Thanks for your question! -Alyson
Hi Caitlin-
You could use almost any fingering weight yarn: https://www.purlsoho.com/yarn.html?yarn_stitches_per_inch_filter=968
Specifically I would recommend Squishy: https://www.purlsoho.com/yarn/knitting-crochet/squishy.html
Or line weight: https://www.purlsoho.com/yarn/knitting-crochet/line-weight.html
Thanks for getting in touch!
Molly
Can this be made for a 12 month size? How would you recommend enlarging it?
Hello ML Ley,
Thanks for your interest in this pattern. Unfortunately we don’t have the resources to customize patterns at the moment. We will keep your request in mind!
Thank you,
Adam
Hello!
I am confused about which side the work should be facing when working the left button band, I’m following the directions and it looks like the work would now start in the wrong side, however under the right side it wants you to start in the right side of the work! Help! Would love some clarification!
Hi Dakota,
Sorry for the trouble with this pattern! You’ll bind off the work with the right side facing you and you’ll leave the last stitch. To pick up for the left band you’ll turn the work clockwise and insert your needle into the row to the left of your last bind off stitch. Pick up along this edge for the button band with the right side facing you at all times. I hope this clarifies things a bit!
Best,
Adam
What is the best way to sew the sleeves to the body? I sewed them using running and also whip stitch, but both look rather messy… Thanks!
Hi Jessica,
Thanks for writing in! Seaming garter stitch can be a little tricky but fortunately we have a great little tutorial that I think could be very helpful for you. It can be found here: https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2013/11/11/seaming-garter-stitch/
Happy knitting!
Cassy
I made a scarf last year with some yarn that contained sea cell. All was fine until I washed it in preparation for blocking. When it was wet it had a very distinctive odor of rotting kelp on the beach! Fortunately the odor was not evident when it dried, and I’ve had no complaints from the friend who acquired it. Still, I wonder if that’s why sea cell is no longer a commonly advertised component of knitting yarn!
Hi Pat,
Thank you for writing in. Just like wet wool smells like damp sheep, sea cell will also smell like well… the sea. Sea cell is actually hard to produce, source and reorder and this is why it isn’t commonly a component in yarn. I’m glad the project didn’t end up smelling like the ocean!
-Adam
I would very much like to make this for size 5 and up
Any suggestions, help?
Thank you
Hello Susan,
Thank you for reaching out! Unfortunately we don’t have the resources to customize patterns at the moment. We will keep your request in mind!
Happy knitting,
Marilla
Maria, Im a novice knitter, so I’m not sure if this will work, but you could figure out how may stitches per square inch this pattern makes for you (it may vary from the purl soho gauge), and then figure out what the finished size of this garment is, so you know how many stitches equal say, twelve inches… and then its just a ratio: i need x inches here, so how many more stitches do i need to cast on here? Does that make sense, or only in my mind? 🙂
Thank you for the beautiful pattern and the update for new yarn. I’m working this up for grandchild #2!
I have a question concerning the construction of the Left Sleeve. The directions indicate to start at the bottom corner of Left Front … and PICK UP 12 stitches. However, in all other parts of the directions, we are instructed to PICK UP AND KNIT. So for the Left Front, are we supposed to simply slip 12 stitches onto the needle and work them as though they are live stitches?
Thanks for your help.
Hi Angie,
Thanks for writing in! Although we used two different slightly different terminologies in this pattern, the phrases “pick up stitches” and “pick up and knit stitches” are often used interchangeably and almost always refer to the same technique, which is using the working yarn to pick up stitches, as we show in our Picking Up Stitches tutorial. You should continue to pick up stitches using the working yarn for both sleeves.
I hope that clears things up!
Julianna
Hello! I started knitting this adorable sweater in Pocket Posy and realize that the main piece of my little sweater is about 20″ wide before adding the button bands (I cast on using 124 stitches as per the instructions, but I did not do a sample swatch, oops). Is this the kind of error that will work itself out and result in a slightly larger sweater, or will the proportions be significantly off (meaning it would be best to start over)? This is my first tiny sweater project, so am hoping someone sager than I can share some advice…thank you!
Hello Katherine,
Happy first sweater! It does sound like you gauge is off, which is totally fine if you don’t mind the sweater coming out larger. Because your gauge will still be consistent your proportions will also be consistent!
I hope this helps and let us know if you have any further questions!
-Marilla
I am having trouble getting the sleeve seams right. I see you shared a tutorial for seaming garter stitch but these sleeves have a vertical to horizontal garter seam and the tutorial only shows horizontal to horizontal. Would really love some guidance. Thank you!!
Hi Melissa,
Thanks for reaching out! After sewing the first four ridges of the sleeve together, you should have 15 ridges left, and the underarm edge of the front and back body will each be 15 stitches as well. You will be sewing one garter ridge to each stitch, following the instructions from the Seaming Garter Stitch tutorial for the sleeve edge and the Seaming Stockinette Stitch Horizontally tutorial for the body edge.
I hope that helps!
Julianna
I love this sweater. It looks somewhat retro and antique. I have seen several comments asking for an adult version. Please couldn’t someone make an adult version. I thought about trying to convert it myself (something I’ve never done ) but yarn is not cheap and I wouldn’t want to mess it up! I await with bated breath!
Cheers,
Jo
Hi Jo,
Thanks so much for the kind words and for reaching out! I will be sure to add your voice to the chorus of request for larger sizes!
Best,
Julianna
I am confused about the sleeves. The pattern seems to skip over actual knitting of the sleeves as it goes from casting on and picking up stitches to sewing the sleeves together. Where are directions as to how many rows and shaping, if any.
Thanks
Hi Naomi,
Thanks for reaching out! You can find the instructions for how many rows to knit on the sleeve beneath the fourth picture in the “Right Sleeve” section of the pattern.
I hope that helps!
Julianna
Hi, I made this sweater, awhile ago in Pocket Posey in Mourning Dove, Teal Twilight, Fern Green & Beetle Blue. I thought it was worsted weight yarn. When I looked, it said Pocket Posey was fingering wt. yarn. I am confused. What weight is this yarn, please. Thanks.
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for reaching out! Our Posy yarn is a fingering weight yarn, and we recommended needle sizes US00 – US3.
I hope this helps clear things up, and please let me know if you have any other questions!
Warmly,
Kelsey
Hi
this looks so interesting and I would love to see a photo with a child wearing it, to get a clear idea of how it ‘sits’. I’d say the same with the other children’s garments without images. It really helps to see how they work.
Hi Victoria,
Thanks for writing in! Since this is an older pattern we do not have photos of this on a model. However, if you visit Ravelry, for this pattern along with all of our other baby patterns, you can find hundreds of photos of finished sweaters made by our customers!
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna